A Tribute to Monstro, Fantasyland's Biggest Villain

Welcome to Whale Poetry Thursday! What better subject than the wondrous and despicable Monstro, who stars in two Fantasyland attractions: Storybook Land Canal Boats and Pinocchio's Daring Journey. The Disney Hipsters have the realm of park Haikus perfected, so all I can do is pay homage to Lewis Carroll and Isaac Watts...

How doth the massive angry whale
Improve the flower beds
And swallow elder toymakers
N' little woodenheads.

How scarily he lunges forth
By Daring Journey's track

And grosses out canal tours
With his epic layers of plaque.

Monstro the Frequent Snacker

People often use the word "charming" to describe Disneyland, but what we need is a word that means, "charming in often weird and unexpected ways." Fantasyland's Monstro fits that description perfectly. This behemoth, after nearly bringing a tragic end to the story of Pinocchio, found a new career swallowing boatloads of happy park-goers.

No matter how hard the big lug tries to look fierce, however, he just can't escape the fact that he's surrounded by beautiful, serene landscaping. As the "gateway to enchantment" for the Storybook Land Canal Boats, Monstro adds another fun, quirky puzzle piece to the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of Disneyland's Fantasyland. He looks surreal and yet so perfectly at home.

I can tell you, when I rode the Canal Boats as a small child, I always held my breath 'till we'd motored safely past the teeth.